Among various technologies, technologies such as Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) or ZigBee are mainly used to discover services of devices within a specific Personal Area Network (PAN) and tethering technology is mainly used to connect heterogeneous networks.
Unlike such a simple PAN, a CPNS has been proposed.
The CPNS allows devices belonging to a personal network (PN) (or a PAN) to receive various services.
Such a CPNS is implemented through a CPNS server, a CPNS gateway and a device supporting a CPNS. In addition, general servers or general devices may also be included.
In the CPNS, a set of devices is referred to as a PN, the CPNS gateway is placed in the PN, services of devices belong to the PN are registered with the CPNS server, a device for providing a predetermined service is discovered in the CPNS server, and an external entity is allowed to share the service provided by the device based on discovery.
The CPNS gateway (also referred to a PN gateway (GW)) serves to connect the PN to another network. The CPNS device is referred to as a personal network entity (PNE) and becomes a member configuring the PN. Several devices may be grouped into a PNE or one device may become a PNE.
FIG. 1 shows the concept of the CPNS.
As shown in FIG. 1, general servers, CPNS servers, CPNS gateways, CPNS devices and general devices are shown.
The CPNS servers may communicate with one or more CPNS gateways (that is, PN gateways) to transmit and receive data. The CPNS servers may communicate with one or more CPNS devices in the PN (or PAN) through the CPNS gateways to exchange data.
The CPNS devices may transmit and receive data to and from one or more different CPNS devices or general devices through the CPNS gateways.
The CPNS gateways may communicate with the CPNS servers or CPNS gateways belonging to another PN or the CPNS devices to transmit and receive data.
The CPNS servers may communicate with the general servers and the CPNS gateways to transmit and receive data.
For example, the CPNS servers and the CPNS gateways may communicate with each other using a cellular network and the CPNS servers and the CPNS devices may communicate with each other using short-range communication such as Bluetooth, near field communication (NFC), ZigBee, Wi-Fi, etc.
The CPNS servers manage and control communication between the CPNS gateways and the CPNS devices so as to exchange applications and information, thereby enhancing user experience. For example, in FIG. 1, a user may acquire position information from another CPNS device (e.g., a global positioning system (GPS)) using an arbitrary CPNS device, transmit the position information to a CPNS server through a CPNS gateway, and receive a position based service from the CPNS server.
As a result, the user may receive various services through several CPNS devices belonging to the PN.